


Search For The Missing Past

by Heavenly_Pearl



Category: Princess Tutu
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-10
Updated: 2012-04-10
Packaged: 2017-11-03 10:02:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 18,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/380168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavenly_Pearl/pseuds/Heavenly_Pearl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rue should be happy. She's finally married to the prince of her dreams, but a part of her heart is still empty. When Rue and Mytho unexpectedly return to Kinkan, she decides to embark on a search for her human family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Act 1- Nightmare Memory

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: "Princess Tutu" doesn't belong to me.

"No! Don't take me away! Please, no!"

Rue's eyes were closed, but she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her, pulling her close. At first, she struggled to break free of the embrace, until she became aware of her husband's soft voice whispering words of comfort. She then relaxed, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Mytho?"

"It's okay, Rue," he said, lightly kissing her forehead. "You're safe with me. You were just having a nightmare again."

"Oh."

Rue sighed and snuggled even closer to Mytho, his warm body heat assuring her that she was in fact safe from the evil crows in her nightmare. Her beloved prince would always be there to protect her, as he had proven in the final battle with the Raven, the being she had considered her father for most of her life.

However, he could not stop the nightmares she'd been having ever since that day. That was something only she could do, but no matter how many times she went to bed, determined only to dream of happy things, she couldn't help but dream of the memory she had seen when the story turned back, the memory of her kidnapping as a baby by the crows from her real, human parents.

She didn't even know who they were, or, for that matter, her real name. She only knew herself as Kraehe, the name the Raven had bestowed on her, and Rue, the name she had given Mytho the first time they met, but, for all she knew, she could have been a Gretchen, Brigitta, or even a Hilda (although she sincerely hoped not).

"What are you thinking about?" Mytho asked.

Rue had thought he'd gone back to sleep, but craning her neck upwards, she saw that he was still wide awake, a concerned look on his face as he looked down on her.

"Nothing," she lied. Though Rue usually felt like she could tell Mytho almost anything, she never talked to him about her nightmares, knowing it would only make him sad to realize she was in such pain and that there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Normally, Mytho respected her wish not to talk about the nightmares, but this time, he would not let the subject go. "Almost every night I hear you shouting in your sleep," he said, placing a hand right above her left breast. "Even now, I can feel your heartbeat racing. Something is troubling you, Rue, and I wish you would tell me what it is." His bright golden eyes suddenly dimmed. "Are you unhappy? With me?"

"No, of course not!" Shocked that he would even suggest such a thing, Rue sat up so that she could look Mytho straight in the eye and caressed his cheek. "I love you with every fiber of my being. You should know that better than anyone."

"Then why do I feel as if you are shutting me out?"

Unable to deny it, Rue sighed and looked down at her hands, which she had folded on her lap. On the left one, her golden wedding ring lightly shimmered in the light coming from the full moon outside their window, and Rue was reminded of the words engraved on the inside of the band: _Two hearts become one._ They had made a promise on their wedding day that they would share each other's pain and sorrow, as well as their joy and happiness - a vow, she was ashamed to admit, she hadn't kept.

"Do you really want to know what's been bothering me?" Rue asked, twirling the band on her finger.

"Of course I do. I can't bear to see you like this anymore. Please, tell me what's wrong, and I'll do anything in my power to fix it."

Drawing in a deep breath, Rue finally confessed her secret desire, the wish she had kept hidden in her heart ever since the day she found out the truth.

"I-I want to find my family, Mytho."

"Your family?"

"My human family, my real parents," Rue said. "Ever since the story turned back and I learned that the crows had kidnapped me from a human couple to become the Raven's daughter, I can't help but wonder who they are, if they ever had any more children… It feels like something very important is missing in my heart."

"I can certainly understand that feeling," Mytho said, bringing his hand to his own heart, "but why didn't you tell me about this before, Rue?"

"Because it's an impossible dream. I was kidnapped from the human realm, and even if there was a way to return, I wouldn't know where to look. I don't even know my own name, much less theirs."

"You don't know that for certain. There could be a way to find them…"

Rue smiled sadly and kissed her husband on the cheek. It was sweet of him to try to cheer her up, but she already knew that the odds were next to nothing that she would ever be able to find her real parents.

"Just forget about it, Mytho. You're all the family I need," she said, laying back down and snuggling underneath the blanket. "Go back to sleep. Tomorrow's a busy day."


	2. Act 2 - The Golden Light

The next morning, Rue awoke to find Mytho had already left to begin his duties for the day. A prince's life meant he rarely got the chance to sleep in, so it was not an uncommon occurrence. Yawning, Rue got out of bed and dressed before heading downstairs to the dining room for breakfast.

"Good morning, Princess Rue," a young maid named Clara said, bringing out a tray of pancakes, fresh fruit, and orange juice, which she set in front of Rue. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, fine, thank you," Rue lied as usual whenever somebody asked that question. "Is Myt- I mean, Prince Siegfried already at the monthly meeting with his knights?"

The maid gave her a strange look. "The prince has cancelled all his appointments for today."

"What?"

"You didn't know?" When Rue shook her head, the maid continued, "Prince Siegfried has been cooped up in his private library ever since five o'clock this morning. He's even skipped his morning barre exercises."

That certainly was unusual for Mytho. He loved ballet and still faithfully practiced for an hour every day, no matter how busy he was. "Did he happen to give a reason for the cancellations?" Rue asked.

"He will only say he is doing some sort of research."

"Thank you, Clara. You are dismissed."

After breakfast, Rue went to Mytho's private library and knocked on the door. "Mytho, it's me," she said when he didn't answer. "May I come in?"

A few moments later, the door cracked open, just far enough so that Rue could see her husband's face. "Rue, what are you doing here?" Mytho asked.

"I should ask you the same thing. Clara told me you cancelled all your appointments for today. Is that true?"

Sighing, Mytho opened the door all the way and allowed her in. The normally pristine library was a mess, with several hundred books stacked in piles around the room and a dozen or so more open on his desk. Rue stepped over one such stack as she came inside, wondering what in the world had happened.

"What is this, Mytho?" Rue demanded to know.

"I've been doing research," Mytho answered, "into possible ways to find your parents."

Her eyes widened. "What? Mytho, I thought I told you to forget about that."

"I can't, Rue. Even if you're fine with the idea of never seeing your real parents again - which I know you aren't - I'm sure your family would be happy to know that you are still alive. It must have been terrible for them to lose their daughter in such a way."

"But how…?"

"It turns out that Drosselmeyer was quite the egotist. He wrote me having a library full of every story he ever wrote," Mytho explained, indicating the hundreds of books he had pulled from the shelves with a sweep of his arm. Only then did Rue realize that most of the spines read "By D.D. Drosselmeyer". "Unfortunately, the one book I'm missing is _The Prince and the Raven_. I suppose it wouldn't have made much sense for me to have a copy of the book when I was supposed to live the storyline of the book."

"Then it is hopeless, just like I told you," Rue said, unable to hide her disappointment. For the briefest of moments, she had allowed herself to think it might be possible, spurned on by Mytho's heartfelt commitment to finding her real parents, but she should have known better to raise up her hopes. "We'd have to go back to Kinkan in order to find a copy of _The Prince and the Raven_ , and that isn't possible."

Unable to look Rue in the eye, Mytho reluctantly nodded. "It appears that way," he admitted. He looked so defeated that Rue couldn't help but give him a hug.

"It's okay, Mytho," she whispered, holding him tight. She didn't trust her voice, knowing it would tremble from the tears she was trying valiantly to hold back. "You tried your best, and I really appreciate it. It just wasn't meant to be, that's all."

"Rue, I'm so sor-"

Before Mytho could finish his apology, however, they were suddenly enveloped by a bright, golden light, and the two of them disappeared.


	3. Act 3 - Reunion

"Rue! Mytho!"

Rue, still embracing Mytho as if her very life depended on it, slowly opened her eyes at the sound of their names. The voice, which sounded vaguely like a duck's, seemed familiar, but that was impossible. Ahiru had given up her human form when she gave Mytho his last heart shard back.

Yet…

"It really is you!" the duck-voiced girl cried out, launching herself at Rue and Mytho and throwing her arms around the both of them. "I'm so happy! I've miss you so, so much!"

Mytho was the first to speak, Rue still in shock by what had just happened. "A-Ahiru? Is that really you?" he asked as the girl released them from her enthusiastic embrace. "Where are we?"

"Kinkan."

"Kinkan? But how?"

"Fakir wrote a story," the girl who could only be Ahiru said as if that explained everything. Running over to a nearby door, she knocked and called out, "Fakir, come out! They're here! They're really, really here!"

From the other room, Rue heard the distinctive sound of a chair being pushed back, then soft footfalls as Fakir walked over to open the door between the two rooms. "Ahiru, what is going on?" he demanded to know. "I told you not to disturb me while I'm wri…ting…"

Fakir's eyes widened when he finally became aware of Rue and Mytho's presence.

"It's been a long time, Fakir," Mytho said, giving his former knight a nod of acknowledgement.

Once he got over the shock of seeing them again, Fakir's lips curled up in a rare smile. "Yes, it has, Mytho. Good to see you again."

"Will somebody please explain what's going on?" Rue asked, speaking for the first time since they arrived. She felt as if she fallen into some strange dream, though a discreet pinch to her arm assured her it was indeed real. "We were in Mytho's private library in the palace, but then there was this blinding golden light…"

"I told you, Rue," Ahiru said, "Fakir wrote a story."

"That still doesn't really explain exactly what happened. And how are you a girl again, Ahiru? I thought you couldn't transform without your pendant."

"Fakir did that, too." Smiling, Ahiru performed a small, awkward pirouette, the skirt of her pretty yellow dress fluttering up slightly around her. "See, I'm completely human now."

"You two want something to eat?" Fakir asked. He had turned toward a nearby cupboard, most likely to hide the faint blush Rue swore she had seen on his cheeks, and was rummaging around the canned goods. "I was just about to break for lunch."

"Oh, I'll fix lunch, Fakir," Ahiru said, coming up beside him and reaching for a can of tomato soup, which he immediately snatched away.

"No, I think I'd better do that. Remember last week?"

"Oh, right."

Ahiru looked bashful at the reminder, but Fakir affectionately ruffled her hair in a manner Rue never thought possible from the gruff, serious young man and jerked his head back toward Mytho and Rue. "Why don't you go entertain our guests instead?" he suggested, and Ahiru instantly perked up.

"Okay!"

Grabbing Rue's and Mytho's hands, the completely human girl who used to be a duck led the two of them outside the small cottage where Fakir evidently now lived. The house was not in the main part of town, as Rue had expected, but sat solitary beside a beautiful crystal blue lake. Unlike the world of the story, which had been in the middle of winter when they had disappeared, Kinkan appeared to be in full spring. Everything was lush and green, and the sun pleasantly warmed Rue's fair skin.

"How have you been, Ahiru?" Mytho asked as the three of them walked around the lake.

Ahiru smiled. "Great," she replied, "especially ever since Fakir wrote the story that turned me back into a human girl. I wouldn't have minded staying as a duck for the rest of my life, but I have to admit it feels wonderful to be able to talk, and laugh, and especially dance again." She did another pirouette. "Miss Helena - she's the new ballet mistress at the Academy, by the way - says I'm almost ready for beginner's pointe classes. Isn't that fantastic? I can't wait!"

"That's wonderful."

"Yes, it is," Rue agreed, though she took the opportunity to turn the conversation back to her original questions. She was happy for Ahiru, but she needed answers - real answers, and not the vague ones Ahiru kept giving them. "So Fakir wrote a story that permanently turned you back into a human girl?"

Ahiru nodded. "I think he sensed how much I longed to be human again. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done it. Fakir doesn't like to use his story spinning powers very often, but I'm glad he did for me." She suddenly stopped. "Actually, that's why you two are here."

"What do you mean, Ahiru?" Rue asked.

"Well…" Ahiru blushed and looked down at the ground. "The truth is, I really missed you guys. I wanted to see you again, so I asked Fakir to write a story where you came for a visit," she confessed. "He didn't really want to at first, feeling it wouldn't be right to control Mytho's actions like Drosselmeyer did, but I convinced him it would be okay as long as he only wrote enough to bring you two here. I-I hope that's okay."

"Actually, we're grateful you did," Mytho said, reaching for Rue's hand and giving it a light squeeze. "In fact, right before we left the story, Rue and I were trying to discover a way to return back to Kinkan. Rue wants to look for somebody who may live here, right, Rue?"

In all the excitement, Rue had almost forgotten about the search for her real parents, but her heart leapt when she realized what their unexpected visit to Kinkan meant. She could finally make a serious effort to find her lost family! Grabbing a surprised Ahiru by the shoulders, Rue looked almost manic as she asked the question that could hold the answer to her prayers.

"Ahiru, listen to me, do you know where the completed version of _The Prince and the Raven_ is?

"The completed version?"

"The one in the tower, the one that recorded everything that happened when you were Princess Tutu. It's very important that I see it."

"I-I'm not sure," Ahiru stuttered. "Um, Rue, could you let go of me? You're hurting me a little."

Rue, embarrassed by her behavior, loosened her grip on Ahiru. "I'm sorry, Ahiru," she apologized. "I just really need to see the book."

"Fakir probably knows where it is. I think he took it after you and Mytho went back into the story."

"Fakir…"

Without telling Mytho or Ahiru where she was going, Rue immediately turned around and ran back to the cottage. Fakir was in the middle of making grilled cheese sandwiches to go with the can of tomato soup he had warmed up when she burst back into the kitchen, excited and out of breath.

"Rue, what in the world…?"

Holding onto the edge of the kitchen table for support, Rue sputtered out seemingly random words as she attempted to catch her breath. "Where…complete… _Prince and Raven_ …? Need…read…it… My parents…"

"Rue, sit down," Fakir ordered, pulling out a chair and pushing Rue down to sit in it. "You aren't making any sense. What's this about _The Prince and the Raven_?"

Rue managed to calm herself down before repeating her question. "I need to see the complete version of _The Prince and the Raven_. It might be able to tell me who my real, human parents are. Do you know where it is?" she asked.

After what seemed like an eternity to Rue, Fakir mournfully shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Rue," he said, "but it's gone. I burned it."


	4. Act 4 - Hope

It was gone.

The last and final hope she had of ever finding her real parents was gone, nothing more than a pile of ashes.

Rue had no idea how long she sat at Fakir's kitchen table, simply staring off into space. She was vaguely aware when Fakir set a bowl of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich in front of her, but her appetite was nonexistent. She only took a few sips of the soup and a small bite of the sandwich to be polite, then pushed the rest away.

"Fakir, can't you write a story about Rue finding her parents?" Ahiru asked, wrapping a comforting arm around Rue. Evidently, Mytho had told the former duck the whole story after she had run off to find Fakir.

"I could, but without knowing their names, there's no guarantee that the parents she would find would be her true parents," Fakir said, running a hand through his dark hair. "The story could simply choose a random couple to fill the role, much like Drosselmeyer chose you to be Princess Tutu."

"But there has to be something we can do!" Ahiru insisted. "It's too sad to leave things like this. I'm sure Rue's real family misses her, too."

"Do you have any other suggestions, Ahiru? Believe me, I would love to help Rue find her parents. I hate what I did, but what else can we do?"

"I-I don't know…"

"It's okay, Ahiru," Rue said, her voice barely above whisper. It was the first thing she had said since Fakir told her he had burned the story in order to prevent it from happening again. "Fakir's right. There's nothing we can do. It was a long shot anyway. Who knows if their names were even in the book?" Pushing her chair away from the table, Rue stood up. "I'm feeling tired. Fakir, is there somewhere I can take a nap?"

Fakir told her where she could find the bedroom, and Rue excused herself, holding back her sobs until she was safely behind closed doors. She then collapsed on the bed and buried her face in a pillow, rivers of tears flowing down her cheeks. The pillow was flatter and rougher than the ones she was accustomed to at the palace, bur Rue barely noticed, her entire body consumed with grief for a family she would never have the chance to know.

"Mama… Papa…"

About an hour later, there was a soft knock on the door, awakening Rue from the light slumber she managed to find after finally exhausting herself to sleep. Rue sat back up and wiped her tear-stained face with the corner of the blanket. "Come in," she said, hoping she didn't look as bad as she felt.

The door opened, and the figure of her husband stepped inside. "Oh, Rue…" he said, his voice soft and full of tenderness as he closed the door behind him.

Wanting nothing more than to be held, Rue stood up and threw herself in Mytho's arms. He wrapped her in his embrace and kissed the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She couldn't bring herself to lie to him. Shaking her head, Rue held Mytho even closer to her. "My heart hurts, Mytho," she whispered, struggling not to cry again. "It hurts so, so much…"

"I know, I know…"

Mytho continued to hold her until they were interrupted by another knock on the door. That time, it was Ahiru, wearing a bright smile on her face that seemed almost cruel considering the pain Rue was in.

"Rue, hurry, you have to come!" she said excitedly, grabbing Rue's wrist. "Quick!"

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Rue asked. Despite Ahiru's attempts to pull her out of the bedroom, she yanked her arm away and stood firmly in place, not in the mood to rejoin their friends at the moment, no matter how rude it might seem.

"Ahiru, could you give me and Rue some privacy?" Mytho suggested in a more polite tone than Rue had managed. "Rue's had quite a shock. I don't think she's ready to face the world just yet."

"But, Rue, Fakir thinks he may know of another way we can find your parents," Ahiru said.

"What?"

"The library. Fakir remembered that the library has an archive of every _Kinkan Guild_ ever printed, and he thinks there may have been an article about your kidnapping. It's a bit of a long shot, but it's worth a look at least, isn't it?"

With all her heart and soul, Rue wanted to say yes, but she wasn't sure she could risk getting her hopes up once again. What would she do if they searched the library's archives, only to come up empty? Her heart wouldn't be able to bear another disappointment.

"I-I can't, Ahiru," Rue said with a shake of her head, surprising the former duck, who no doubt assumed the news would cheer her up.

"But, Rue…"

"It's too hard. I can't - No, I won't allow myself to think it might possible. It just hurts too much."

"Are you certain, Rue?" Mytho asked, caressing her arm. "I know you've been disappointed so far, but if there's even the slightest chance we can find your parents, isn't it worth taking that chance?"

"But what if we can't find anything?"

"Then you are no worse off than you are right now. You have everything to gain, and nothing to lose."

Rue sighed. Logically, she knew Mytho was right. She really didn't have anything to lose by looking through some musty old newspapers, and if the article truly did exist… Could she ever forgive herself if she gave up her search before trying every possible avenue?

"Okay," she finally agreed. "Let's go to the library."


	5. Act 5 - Good News

Ten minutes later, the quartet arrived in the main part of Kinkan. Though most of the buildings and such looked much the same as they did when Rue and Mytho had left to return to the story, it was strange not to pass any of the animorphic people that had populated the town for so long. Animals were simply pets, and nothing more. Rue did spot one brown bear in human clothing passing out balloons in front of an ice cream parlor that had recently opened, but, upon closer inspection, she saw he was just a teenage boy dressed in a bear costume.

"The story really did end, didn't it?" Rue commented to herself as she and Mytho followed Fakir and Ahiru to the library.

Nobody even seemed to remember Mytho. Occasionally, they passed one of their former classmates from the Academy, who would wave and say hello to Rue, but nobody said a word to Mytho, not even some of his more rabid fangirls. That suited Rue just fine. She had tolerated the girls' crushes back when Mytho didn't have a heart, because she knew that he would never be able to return their love, but now that she and Mytho were married, she didn't like the idea of other women flirting with her husband, no matter how devoted and faithful she knew Mytho was to her.

"Well, here we are," Fakir said when they had finally reached the library. "Keep your voices down, okay? Autorcan be a real pain in the ass when it comes to noise in the library, and I'd rather not deal with him in Quiet Police-mode if I can help it."

Well, at least some things had stayed the same.

Opening the door, Fakir let Rue, Mytho, and Ahiru enter the library ahead of him. Other than Autor, who practically lived in the library, they were the only ones there - a fact that made the sound of Ahiru accidentally knocking into a stack of books seem especially loud. To her credit, she managed to muffle her shriek of surprise when the books fell down, but Autor's sensitive ears were already attuned to their presence.

"Will you please be a little qui- Oh, it's you two again," the young man in glasses said, letting out a sigh. "I should have known."

"Sorry, Autor," Ahiru apologized after Fakir had come forward and helped her pick the books back up.

"Honestly, you would think a ballerina would have a little more grace and poise, more like the lovely Rue… Rue! Mytho!"

The book in Autor's hands fell to the table, his eyes wide behind his glasses when he finally noticed Rue and Mytho standing behind Fakir and Ahiru.

"What have you done?" Autor demanded to know, turning his attention to Fakir. "You haven't done something stupid like setting the story in motion again, did you?"

"Of course not," Fakir said. "After all the trouble that happened the last time, do you really think I would be that idiotic?" Without waiting for Autor's answer, he continued, "Listen, Autor, we need to see the _Kinkan Guild_ archives from about…seventeen, eighteen years ago? We're not sure of the exact date, so just let us see all the issues from those two years."

"Fakir, you know perfectly well that the only person who can give permission to patrons to browse through the archives is the librarian, who, as you can see, is not here today."

"Where is he?"

"He took a sick day. A nasty flu bug's been going around town." Autor pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Of course, he did leave me in charge while he is incapacitated, but - "

"Please, Autor," Rue said, interrupting him, "we really need to see those newspapers. It's very important to me. Can't you make an exception to the rules just this once?"

As Rue suspected by the blush that had suddenly crossed the bridge of Autor's nose, he still had a bit of a crush on her. He motioned for them to follow him, then led them to the back room of the library where the archives were kept.

"These newspapers are old and very fragile, so I expect you to use the utmost care in handling them," Artur said, his gaze falling mostly on Ahiru as he pulled out two large boxes and set them on a nearby table. "Latex gloves will be worn at all times, and you will use these tweezers to carefully turn the pages. I do not want to see a single tear or smudge when these are returned. I trust nobody has snuck in any food or beverages?" They all shook their head "no," satisfying Autor. "Good. Then I will leave you to your research. If you require any more of my assistance, I will be out front, working on my Chopin paper. Do try to keep the noise down to a bare minimum."

With that, Autor left, and Fakir began splitting the workload between them as they all pulled on the latex gloves Autor had provided them.

"Ahiru and I will take this box," he said, grabbing the one closest to him and moving it to another table so that there would be enough room to spread the papers out. "Mytho, you and Rue look through that one. Most likely, the story of a baby being kidnapped by a flock of crows will be a front page story, but it's probably best to comb the whole thing, just in case."

Rue and Mytho nodded their understanding and sat down at the table with the first box. As Autor had warned them, the yellowed newspapers were indeed very delicate. Rue was almost afraid to touch them, for more reasons than just their apparent fragility, but Mytho gave her a comforting smile and placed a paper from July in front of her.

"Don't give up hope just yet, Rue," he whispered. "These papers just might hold the clue we've been searching for."

Rue forced herself to return the smile before starting on the first paper. "Right."

No matter what Mytho said, though, she refused to get her hopes up once again. It would be wonderful if they did find an article that gave her parents' names, but Rue wasn't expecting much. That way, when their search proved fruitless, as it most likely would, she wouldn't be as disappointed. Pessimism had firmly taken hold of her heart, providing a shield from the pain - a shield that became all the more necessary as Rue finished looking through all the papers from July, August, and September without any luck.

None of the others appeared to have found anything, either. Even Ahiru, who had been the one most optimistic about finding the article, seemed disheartened by their lack of progress after a couple of hours had passed without even the hint of a clue uncovered. The former duck heaved a heavy sigh as she turned the page of the newspaper she was reading with a pair of tweezers.

"Maybe this is hopeless after all," Ahiru said, rubbing at her eyes. "My vision's starting to blur from all this read - Ah!"

Rue's head shot up, along with Fakir's and Mytho's.

"What is it, Ahiru?" Fakir asked, getting up from his chair and coming up behind Ahiru.

"I-I think I may have found something," Ahiru said, grabbing her paper with both hands with no regard for Autor's rules. "It's just a small blurb, but it says that a candelight vigil was held at St. Wenceslaus's Church in the memory of Gisela Odile Hoffmann, a baby girl who was kidnapped by crows and presumed dead."

"Does it say who her parents were?" Rue asked, her heart pounding in her chest as she and Mytho gathered around Ahiru as well. Gisela Odile Hoffmann? Was that the name her real parents had given her?

Ahiru shook her head. "No, but the kidnapping supposedly happened the previous June. Fakir, maybe there's an arti-"

Fakir didn't wait for Ahiru to finish her suggestion, already knowing what she was thinking. Pulling the box toward him, he rummaged through the remaining papers until he found what he was looking for.

Rue gasped as Fakir yanked the paper out of the box and held it up for all to read.

The headline on the front page read _Local Girl Kidnapped by Crows_ , and it was accompanied by a short article and a black-and-white photograph of a happy family.

"Hey, doesn't that woman look kind of like an older version of Rue?" Ahiru asked, pointing to the mother, who held a dark-haired baby in her arms.

The woman did indeed strongly resemble Rue - or perhaps it would be more correct to say that Rue resembled her. She had dark hair and eyes, and they shared most of the same delicate facial features. The only noticeable difference between them was that the woman was softer and more curvier than Rue, who had the lithe and willowy body of a ballerina.

The man, on the other hand, was fairer than his wife, with light hair and what Rue assumed was either blue or green eyes, since the picture was not in color. He was standing behind the seated woman and child in the family portrait and appeared quite tall. What struck Rue the most, though, was the man's smile. It seemed so…kind, the way she had always dreamed the Raven - and later, Mytho - would smile at her.

 _Are these people really my parents?_ Rue wondered to herself as Fakir cleared his throat and began reading the accompanying article aloud.

"In a crime that has shocked Kinkan, a six-month-old baby girl was kidnapped last Friday near a local cemetery. According to the girl's father, Karl Hoffmann, who owns _Hoffmann's Jewelry_ , his daughter Gisela was asleep in her carriage when he and his wife were suddenly attacked by a flock of crows.

"'I can't believe this has happened,' the grief-stricken father said. 'Eva and I were just taking our little girl on a walk. We've strolled through that neighborhood hundreds of times, and nothing like this… Everything was so peaceful until those damn crows appeared! It's been a nightmare, an absolute nightmare.' 

"The kidnapping allegedly occurred around 5:30 p.m. on June 24th. Mr. Hoffmann and his wife, Eva, regularly took their daughter for late afternoon walks through the area, located near their Peach Street home. 

"'Gisela loved those walks,' Mrs. Hoffmann said. 'Whenever she was fussy or upset, all I had to do was take her for a ride in her carriage, and she would almost immediately calm down and go to sleep. I think the birds' singing soothed her.'

"On the afternoon in question, the area was nearly deserted. Mr. Hoffmann recalls he thought that strange, but he didn't think much of it at the time. There had been a heat wave going through town that week, so he assumed most people were staying inside.

"'We weren't planning to stay out long ourselves,' he said. 'We didn't want Gisela to become overheated.'

"The couple were on their way back home when they were suddenly attacked by a flock of crows.

"'The crows were absolutely vicious,' Mr. Hoffman said. 'My wife and I sustained several serious cuts while trying to shoo them away from Gisela's carriage. Our only source of consolation was that Gisela appeared unharmed when the crows took her from us. We… We can only hope that is still the case.'

"Anybody who may know something about Gisela Hoffmann's kidnapping is asked to contact the local authorities. A $10,000 reward has also been set up by the Hoffmanns for any information leading to their daughter's return, whether dead or alive."

After Fakir had finished reading the article, the four of them sat in stunned silence, letting what they had just learned sink in. Karl and Eva Hoffman were Rue's real parents, and her birth name had been Gisela; there was little doubt about it. If the crows had kidnapped another little girl, Rue surely would have known about it, but she had been the only one.

"Peach Street?" Mytho asked, finally breaking the silence as he took the newspaper from Fakir's hands. "That's near the school, isn't it? It sounds familiar."

Fakir nodded. "We passed it every time we went from the dorms to Karon'shouse to visit."

"Do you think the Hoffmanns still live there?"

"Who knows?" The former knight shrugged his shoulders. "Not many people have moved in or out of town since the story took over. I'd say it's possible, but with all the bad memories…"

"No, they have to still be there," Ahiru insisted, jumping up from her chair. "Rue deserves a happy ending, so they will be there, waiting for their beloved daughter to come back. I know it!"

"Ahiru," Fakir said in an uncharacteristic gentle voice, "the Hoffmanns believe their child is dead…"

Ahiru stubbornly shook her head. "I don't care. I can't believe those kind-looking people in that photograph would ever give up hope that Gisela would return to them, no matter how long it's been. They loved her so much… Just look at them!" Grabbing the paper from Mytho, Ahiru shoved the photograph in Fakir's face. "They would never give up hope - never!"

Beside Rue, Mytho wrapped an arm around her trembling shoulders. "Rue, are you okay?" he asked in a soft voice. "You're being very quiet. I thought you would be happy to find out who your real parents were."

Rue didn't quite know what to think about it, if she was honest with herself. Despite what they had learned, it didn't feel real to her. For so long, she had been Princess Kraehe, the Raven's daughter, then Rue, the Academy's prima ballerina and Mytho's lover and wife; the identity of Gisela Odile Hoffmann - the daughter of Karl and Eva - was still a mystery to her, even if she now knew the facts of her first six months of life.

Still, she felt a connection to the smiling people in the photograph. It was faint, but definitely there.

"I'm fine," Rue said to Mytho, smiling a smile that was half sincere happiness and half trepidation. "This is just…so new to me, I guess."

"Do you want to meet them?"

After a slight hesitation, Rue nodded. She had already come this far in her search; she couldn't turn back now when she was so close.

"Let's go. I want to meet my parents."

Ahiru and Fakir, who had been arguing about something or other, stopped their bickering at Rue's words, and Fakir tore the front page of the newspaper, placing it in his pocket.

"Yes, let's go," he said, taking the lead and ignoring Ahiru, who scolded him for vandalizing private property.


	6. Act 6 - Recognition

They arrived on Peach Street far sooner than Rue had expected. It was not a residential area, as she had assumed, but right in the heart of the business district of the town. Rue, herself, had often shopped in the small stores that lined the street and wondered if it was possible that she had passed her parents before on the street without even knowing it was them.

 _Will they even recognize me?_ Rue thought as she stopped and looked at her reflection in a boutique's store window. She did favor her mother in looks, but she had only been a baby the last time they saw her…

"Rue?" Mytho, noticing her absence by his side, turned around. "Are you okay?"

She nodded and jogged to catch up with Mytho and the others, who had stopped in front of one of the larger shops on the street. The building was two stories high, and a collection of sparkling diamond jewelry was displayed in the store's window, catching Ahiru's eye. Rue, however, found her attention drawn to the sign right about the front door.

 _Hoffmann's Jewelry_.

Her parents' store.

"I suppose this is the place," Fakir announced, pulling out the article he had torn out of the paper to make certain. "They probably have an apartment above the shop. Most of the bigger stores usually do."

Mytho grasped Rue's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze as Fakir opened the door and ushered them inside.

A few of the store's well-dressed customers gave the quartet curious stares as the bell above the door announced their presence. For the first time, Rue realized what a sight they must have made: a young prince and princess, garbed in decadent finery, joined by two teenagers dressed in casual clothes. In hindsight, she and Mytho probably should have asked Ahiru and Fakir if they could borrow a change of clothes while they were in Kinkan, but it was too late to turn back without drawing even more attention to themselves. Pretending as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about their attire, the four walked over to a display of engagement rings near the back of the store.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Fakir said once they were out of earshot. "Who knew this place was so hoity-toity? Your parents must be incredibly well-off, Rue."

"They did offer a $10,000 reward for information about Gisela's disappearance," Mytho reminded him.

"Oh, look at this pretty ring, Fakir!" Ahiru, who still continued to be awed by the glamorous jewelry, pressed her forehead against the glass case and pointed to one of the diamond rings. A wistful sigh escaped her lips "It's so beautiful…"

"Forget it, idiot," Fakir said. "That's way out of my price range."

Ahiru rolled her eyes. "It's not like I asked you to buy it for me, Fakir. I was just saying that I liked it."

"Oh…right."

The former knight began to blush just as a man came up behind the case, startling them. To Rue's relief, he was not her father, although the two did share some facial similarities and the same kind smile.

"May I help you young people find something?" the man asked. "I must say, you all look rather young to be interested in engagement rings."

"Actually, we're from the drama department at Kinkan Academy," Fakir lied, his face returning back to its normal color. "These two," he indicated Rue and Mytho, "are playing the leads in our new play, and we're looking for some jewelry to complete their costumes."

Rue was amazed by how fast Fakir came up with a story to explain their strange attire, but the man seemed to accept it without question.

"Ah, so that explains it," he said, nodding. "Well, I'm afraid most of our items may be too expensive for a school play, but we do have some nice quality costume jewelry that may be more within your price range if you're interested. Let me just -"

The man abruptly stopped in the middle of his sentence, his light blue eyes staring straight at Rue.

"Sir?" Rue said, her heart beginning to pound. Had he recognized her?

The man shook his head. "Forgive for staring, miss," he apologized. "You just bear a remarkable resemblance to my sister-in-law when she was younger. In fact, if my oldest niece was still alive, I imagine she would…" His voice beginning to crack, he again shook his head. "No, never mind me. It's a foolish thought," he said with a heavy sigh. "I'll go find those pieces for you to look at. Please wait. I'll only be a moment."

With that, the man left to find the costume jewelry.

"Why didn't you say something, Rue?" Ahiru demanded to know once the man - no, Rue's uncle - was out of sight. "He recognized you! Well, kind of, but he thinks you look like your mother, too, so -"

"She can't exactly just go up to the guy and say, 'Hey, guess what, I am Gisela, the niece you thought died eighteen years ago,'" Fakir pointed out. "He would think she was either nuts or a con artist. If the Hoffmanns are as well-off as they seem, I imagine plenty of fake Giselas popped up over the years, pretending to be their missing daughter."

"That's terrible!" Ahiru scowled. "Taking advantage of their grief like that…"

"Yeah, well… What do you plan to do, Rue?" he asked.

Rue shook her head. She hadn't exactly thought that far ahead. A part of her had hoped her parents would take one look at her and just somehow _know_ that she was Gisela, although she realized now how naïve that sounded. Of course it wouldn't be that simple, especially when her parents were under the impression that she died almost two decades ago.

However, before they could brainstorm any ideas, Rue's uncle returned with several small cases containing rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. "Here you go, kids," he said, setting the cases in front of them. "If you don't mind me making a suggestion, I think this necklace here would go quite beautifully with the young lady's costume." He held up a garnet choker, accented by cubic zirconia. "Go ahead, try it on. It'll certainly bring out the unusual red color of her eyes."

"Yes, I think it will, Mr. Hoffmann," Mytho agreed, playing along by taking the choker and placing it around Rue's neck. "What do you think? Do you like it, Gisela?"

Both Rue and her uncle turned to look at Mytho, shock written on their faces at the use of Gisela's name. _What in the world does Mytho think he's doing?_ Rue wondered.

"Y-Your name is Gisela, miss?" Mr. Hoffman asked, obviously startled by the information.

Not knowing what else to say, Rue nodded.

"And your surname? Forgive me if I'm being rude, but I would really like to know."

"It's von Hohenheim," Mytho answered for Rue, actually giving her married name, "but Gisela was…adopted when she was only a baby."

Rue was beginning to catch onto Mytho's plan. He was giving her uncle enough hints to consider the possibility that she really was his missing niece without directly telling him who she was. That way, they didn't immediately come off as con artists, although Rue wondered how long that would last when Fakir's lie about them being drama students was exposed, as it inevitably would be if the man thought she really was Gisela.

"Adopted, huh?" Mr. Hoffmann began staring even more intently at Rue than he had before. "It can't be," he murmured, "but you look so much like Eva, and the name…"

"Mr. Hoffmann?" Rue breathed as her uncle came out from behind the counter and lifted up her chin to better study her face.

"Gisela, is it really you?" he asked, tears beginning to form in his light blue eyes. "After all these years, can it really and truly be you?"

Rue couldn't speak. She could barely even breathe. She wanted nothing more to throw herself in her uncle's arms and tell him that yes, she was his niece, kidnapped by the crows so many years ago, but she knew she couldn't seem too anxious without raising his suspicions. Instead, she tried her best to appear politely confused by Mr. Hoffmann's seemingly strange behavior.

"You probably have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" he asked, chuckling as he let go of her chin and pulled out a handkerchief to dry his eyes. "Forgive me. It's just… Gisela, may I ask you one final question?'

Rue nodded, still not trusting her voice.

"I know this is personal, and if it is too difficult for you to talk about, I'll completely understand, but do you know the circumstances behind your adoption?"

Before answering, Rue looked over at her husband and friends. They were all giving her nods, silently encouraging her to tell Mr. Hoffmann the truth. Realizing that they would be there to support her no matter what happened, Rue finally managed to find her voice again.

"The truth is, Mr. Hoffmann," she said after taking a deep breath, "my so-called 'adoption' was not exactly legal. I-I was kidnapped from my real parents when I was about six months old."

Her uncle drew in a sharp intake of breath. "Kidnapped? By whom?"

Looking him straight in the eye, Rue only said one word.

"Crows."


	7. Act 7 - Extended Family

Uncle Henry, as he asked Rue to call him, had begun to sob as soon as he realized who she really was, hugging her so tightly, Rue thought her ribs might break. After asking one of the other employees to look after the store until closing, he invited the four of them up to his apartment upstairs with the promise of explaining things more completely.

Stepping inside the apartment, Rue was mildly disappointed to discover that Uncle Henry lived alone. When she asked where her parents were, he informed her that, as Fakir had suspected, they had moved to another place shortly after Gisela's kidnapping, unable to bear living there without their daughter. Karl Hoffmann still co-owned the jewelry store, however, and worked there every weekday. Since it was Saturday, it was his day off, which explained his absence.

"I'll take you to their place tomorrow," Uncle Henry promised. "It's not far, but it's getting late." With a nod of his head toward the window, he indicated the sky, which had deepened to a dark blue, dotted by the silver of the stars. "In fact, how about some dinner? I'm not much of a cook, but I can manage."

Rue's stomach was too nervous to eat, but the others accepted his kind offer of a meal. After Uncle Henry left for the kitchen to start dinner, the four of them sat down, Rue and Mytho taking the loveseat while Ahiru and Fakir shared the couch.

"Well, he seems really nice," Ahiru said, smiling at Rue.

"Yes, he does," Rue agreed, sighing. "I just wish we hadn't told so many half-truths. I know it was better to let Mr. Hoffman - I mean, Uncle Henry - come to the conclusion I was Gisela himself, but it feels like we've tricked him."

Beside her, Mytho patted her knee. "You didn't do anything wrong, Rue," he assured her. "If anyone's to blame, it's me. I just couldn't think of anything else to do, so I spoke without thinking of the consequences."

"As did I," admitted Fakir. "It seemed a good idea at the time to tell him we were drama students, but…" He shrugged. "Well, maybe once they hear the whole story, they'll understand. You are Gisela, after all. I'd think they would forgive you almost anything as long as they had you back."

"I hope so…"

Standing up, Rue walked over to a wall covered in framed black-and-white photographs - pictures of her new family. She recognized her mother and father from the picture in the paper, as well as Uncle Henry, of course, but the rest of the smiling faces in the photos were a mystery to her. Her eyes naturally drifted to the largest of the bunch.

It appeared to be a portrait of the entire extended family. An elderly couple, who Rue assumed were her grandparents, sat front and center, while their children, sons- and daughters-in-law, and grandchildren gathered around them. Locating her parents, Rue noticed a young boy standing in front of her mother, and her father was holding a little blonde girl in his arms.

 _My brother and sister?_ she wondered, staring at the two children.

"Ah, I see you've spotted the pictures." Uncle Henry had returned to the living room and came up behind Rue, chuckling. "As you can see, you have quite the large family. I never married, of course, but you have one other uncle and two aunts who all had families. Your parents also went on to have two more children after your disappearance - a boy and a girl," he said, answering Rue's unasked question.

"What are their names?" Rue asked, still staring at the images of her newfound siblings. There was definitely a family resemblance, although her little sister had their father's fair coloring instead of the dark hair and eyes Rue and her brother inherited from their mother.

"Josef and Anneliese. Josef just turned thirteen, and little Anneliese is seven, so they're a little older now than when that portrait was taken." Uncle Henry pointed out a more recent picture, showing the two siblings standing in front of a large Christmas tree. "They're good kids. Been a great comfort to your folks since…well, you know."

"Do they know about me? I mean, about what happened to me?"

Uncle Henry nodded, a sad look in his eyes. "Karl and Eva never really got over your kidnapping. They've tried to move on, and in some ways, they've succeeded, but it's been hard. The whole family visits the grave marker they put up in your memory once every month. In fact, today was the day of their scheduled visit for this month, another reason I think it is best to wait until tomorrow to tell them you are alive. They're always a bit drained after those visits."

"Oh."

Her uncle spent the next few minutes introducing her to the rest of the family, pointing out aunts, uncles, and her many cousins, until the faint smell of burning chicken began to fill the air. Uncle Henry ran to the kitchen to check it out, coming out a short time later to set the table.

"Come, sit," he called out to the others. "It'll only be a few more moments."

With some reluctance, Rue, Mytho, Fakir, and Ahiru took a seat at the dining table, and Uncle Henry returned, as promised, a couple of minutes later with a platter of burnt fried chicken and a tossed salad.

"Sorry," he apologized as set the food on the table. "I warned you I wasn't much of a cook, but I think it should still be edible if you take off the skin."

"It's fine, Mr. Hoffmann," Mytho assured him, diplomatic as usual. "I always liked my chicken a little on the burnt side."

Uncle Henry chuckled. "Thank you, young man," he said. "Oh, that reminds me. I don't believe we've all been properly introduced. May I have your names?"

"I'm Ahiru, and this is Fakir," Ahiru said brightly as Fakir stabbed one of the burnt pieces of chicken with his fork and stared at it as if trying to decide if it was really safe to eat or not. "We're friends of R- I mean, Gisela and Mytho."

"Mytho? That's quite an unusual name."

"It's kind of a nickname," Mytho explained. "My full name is Siegfried von Hohenheim."

Uncle Henry raised an eyebrow. "Von Hohenheim? Isn't that your name as well, Gisela? Is he your adopted brother, or a cousin, perhaps?"

Slightly blushing, Rue brought her left hand to cover Mytho's beside her so that her uncle could better see the golden wedding band she wore. "Actually, Mytho is my husband," she confessed, not wanting to have any more lies between them.

"Y-Your husband?" he stuttered, obviously shocked by the revelation.

"We've been married for almost a year."

"I see." After letting the news sink in, Uncle Henry smiled. "Well, I suppose Eva and Karl weren't all that much older than you two when they got married. Who am I to judge, as long as you are happy?"

"We are happy," Rue said, squeezing her husband's hand. "Very happy."

"I'm glad to hear that, Gisela. After everything you must have gone through, you deserve a little happiness."

After that, dinner was mostly uneventful. Rue did her best to try to keep the subject on her new family, still not quite sure how she would explain her part of the story. Like most of Kinkan, Uncle Henry had no idea that for most of the last twenty years, the entire town had been under the control of Drosselmeyer's story, so she knew it would take some major explaining on her part to convince her family it was the truth. However, at least they still seemed to believe that she'd been kidnapped by crows; if they were willing to accept that, Rue hoped the rest of the story wouldn't seem so fantastical.

Once dinner was over, Fakir and Ahiru excused themselves, thanking Uncle Henry for the dinner as they prepared to leave. Rue and Mytho had planned to go with them, but Uncle Henry insisted that they spend the night so that they could go to his brother's house first thing in the morning. Since Fakir's tiny cottage only had one bedroom and it would have been impossible to sneak Mytho into the girls' dormitory where Ahiru lived on campus, they accepted the offer.

"Do you want us to meet you back here in the morning before you go to your parents' house?" Ahiru asked as she hugged Rue good-bye. Her voice was barely above a whisper so that Uncle Henry wouldn't hear. "It might be easier to convince them of the truth if Fakir and I are there to confirm your story."

Rue briefly considered it, but shook her head. Though Ahiru and Fakir were dear friends and had been a huge help in finding her parents, she felt the reunion should be a private family affair, at least at first. If things went well, they could always come next time. "Thanks, but I think I'll be okay as long as I have Mytho by my side."

"Are you sure?" When Rue nodded, Ahiru gave her another hug. "Okay, then good luck tomorrow. I hope everything goes well for you and your new family."

"Thank you, Ahiru, for everything. If it wasn't for you and Fakir…"

Ahiru smiled. "No need to thank us. That's what friends are for."


	8. Act 8 - Coming Clean

Rue was still awake.

Her eyes wide open, she listened to the faint song of the cuckoo clock coming from the living room and sighed. Two o'clock. In a little more than six hours, she would be meeting her birth parents for the first time in almost eighteen years. Was it any wonder she was too wired to sleep?

Quietly, as not to wake Mytho, who was dead to the world, Rue slid out from underneath the quilt they shared and reached for the robe Uncle Henry had loaned her for the night. According to him, it, as well as the nightgown she wore, had originally belonged to her mother, long forgotten in some boxes her parents had left behind in the attic when they moved. They were both a bit loose on Rue's petite frame, but she had loved the idea of sleeping in something her mother had once owned. Silly though the sentiment was, wearing her mother's clothes, it was almost as if she could remember being cradled in her mother's arms when she was a baby.

After pulling the robe over her nightgown and making certain that Mytho had not woken up, Rue tiptoed out of the guest room, stifling a shriek of surprise when she accidentally ran into a large, shadowy figure coming out the bedroom across the hall at the exact same time.

"Eva! I mean, Gisela, pardon me," the shadow's voice whispered, the light of his candle flickering to reveal Uncle Henry's face. "I wasn't expecting you to be awake."

"I couldn't sleep," Rue admitted, her voice equally soft. "I thought I might warm up a glass of milk. I mean, if you don't mind."

"Mind? Of course not." He motioned for Rue to follow him to the kitchen. "A glass of warm milk sounds delicious. I think I'll join you."

When they made it to the kitchen, Uncle Henry grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator, while Rue, at his insistence, took a seat at the small kitchen table.

"I hope I didn't wake you, Uncle Henry," Rue said, watching her uncle heat the milk up on the stove.

"No, not at all. It seems I have a touch of insomnia as well." Once the milk was the right temperature, he pulled out two mugs, setting one in front of Rue, and began to pour. "I just can't believe you have returned after all these years. I suppose I'm afraid if I fall asleep, I'll wake up in the morning to discover it was all a dream."

"I hope it's not. If it is, then I don't ever want to wake up."

"Make that the both of us." Sighing, Uncle Henry took a seat in the chair across from Rue. "You know, Gisela, you haven't told me much about yourself. I'm afraid I hogged all the conversation at dinner earlier tonight, telling you all about Karl, Eva, Josef, and Anneliese. I know that you and Seigfried - I'm sorry, I can't bring myself to call him by that strange nickname of his - are married, and you are both drama students at the Academy…"

Rue had been about to take a sip of her milk, but coughed instead at the reminder of Fakir's lie.

"Are you okay, Gisela?" her uncle asked. "Is the milk too hot for you?"

Shaking her head, Rue set down her mug. "It's fine, Uncle Henry," she said, her gaze glued to the table. "It's just… I have a confession to make to you."

"A confession?"

Her heart beating wildly against her ribcage, Rue drew in a deep breath to calm herself. She had no idea how Uncle Henry would take the news that they had not been one-hundred percent truthful to him about who she really was, but she'd thought about it while she tried to fall asleep and felt it was best to tell him the whole truth before they went to her parents' house. Of course, she had planned to wait until morning, so that she and Mytho could tell him together, but Rue supposed now was as good as time as any, since the subject had been broached.

"The truth is, Mytho and I aren't really drama students from the Academy," she finally admitted, feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. "Mytho, Fakir, and I did attend the Academy at one time, but we were ballet students. Ahiru is the only one who is still a student, and she's in the ballet program, too."

"I don't understand. Why did that young man claim you were all from the drama department then?"

"It was a cover story. Fakir thought it was best to make it seem as if our meeting was coincidental, when the truth is, we came here specifically to meet your brother."

"I see…" Though Rue still refused to lift her eyes from the scratch she was so intently concentrating on, she imagined Uncle Henry was now staring at her with suspicion. "So you are like all the others, those girls who only pretended to be Gisela because of our family's wealth?"

Rue shook her head. "It was never my intention to deceive you," she said, forcing herself to look her uncle in the eyes. As she had suspected, Uncle Henry had lost a bit of his warmth. "I just didn't know how to tell you the truth."

"And what is this truth?" he asked.

"That I am Gisela Hoffmann, your long-lost niece."

Uncle Henry looked dubious. "And why should I believe you? You've already admitted you've lied to me before. Why should I believe you now?"

At a loss for an answer, Rue sighed. He had every right to be suspicious of her claim, but she had no solid proof that she truly was Gisela. If only Fakir hadn't burned the book…

"Look, miss, I'm not an unkind man," Uncle Henry said after a long pause. "I find it admirable that you have confessed to your lies, especially before I had the chance to introduce you to Karl and Eva. If I had given them false hope that Gisela had returned…" His words drifted off. "I don't think you are a bad girl at heart, but if you are not Gisela, then please tell me so I may put my niece's memory to rest, as I should have done many years ago. Who are you, really?"

"The name I go by now is Princess Rue von Hohenheim," Rue admitted in a soft voice, "but before that, I was known as Princess Kraehe, the princess of crows." She held up a hand, sensing that Uncle Henry was about to interrupt. "The story I am about to tell you is going to sound strange, but it is the truth," she continued, her confidence growing stronger. "I don't ask that you believe me right away, but at least try to keep an open mind."

Uncle Henry nodded, and Rue told him everything.

She told him about Drosselmeyer, about how the sadistic author had the power to "spin stories" and bring them to life, even from beyond the grave. She told him about the unfinished novel _The Prince and the Raven_ , and how the Prince of the story had managed to escape from the world of the book into the world of reality. She told him how the Prince had shattered his own heart in order to seal the Raven away, and how Princess Tutu and a loyal Knight, who also had the ability to "spin stories," had helped the Prince to regain his heart and saved the town from the unsealed Raven. And, finally, Rue told him about how she had learned the truth about who she really was: she was not the Raven's daughter, as he had led her to believe, but the kidnapped baby of human parents, parents she longed to reunite with after so many years.

To his credit, Uncle Henry did not interrupt her once. He listened attentively to Rue's entire story, only arching his left eyebrow at some of the more incredulous parts. When she finished her tale, he remained silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

"I must say, that's quite a story, young lady," he said after taking a drink of his now-cold milk. "Quite a story!"

Though she had expected as much, Rue sighed. "You don't believe me."

To her surprise, however, Uncle Henry shook his head. "I didn't say that. It's true that it certainly is a far-fetched story, but that was what everybody used to say about your - I mean, Gisela's - parents' claim that she had been kidnapped by a flock of crows. Even I had a hard time believing them at first, though Karl and Eva were so insistent about what happened, I had to at least consider the possibility it was the truth."

"So…you do believe me?" Rue hesitantly asked.

"Let's just say that I'm open to the possibility that what you said really happened." Standing up, Uncle Henry took both their half-drunken cups of milk to the sink to rinse them out. "Look - Rue, was it? - it's getting late. Go back to bed and try to get some sleep. We'll sort this matter out in the morning when we arrive at my brother's house."

"We're still going?"

"Karl and Eva will know whether or not you are truly their daughter," he explained. "Every girl who has ever claimed to be Gisela has undergone a simple test to confirm her identity."

"What kind of test?"

He shook his head. "Even if I knew the specifics, I couldn't tell you. It wouldn't be fair, would it?"

"I suppose not," she admitted and bit her bottom lip. _A test? What kind of test could it be?_

Turning around after he had finished rinsing out the mugs, Uncle Henry smiled at her for the first time since she told him her story. "Don't worry, Rue," he said. "If your story is the truth and you really are Gisela, you have nothing to worry about. Now, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."

She nodded. "Goodnight, Uncle Henry."


	9. Act 9 - Meeting The Family

Rue did not sleep much better after her talk with Uncle Henry. Her guilt about the lies they had told had lessened after her late-night confession, but that had been replaced by worry about what kind of test her parents would make her undergo to prove that she really was their daughter. Surely they didn't expect her to remember anything about the short time she lived with them; the only reason she "remembered" her kidnapping was because she had seen the flashback from the story. She had only been six months old at the time, after all. Her first real memory was meeting Mytho for the first time, and that had happened when she was about four or five.

However, she did at last manage to get in at least a couple of hours of sleep before she was awakened by Mytho gently shaking her shoulder. "Come on, wake up, Rue," he said softly when she groaned, her body protesting the early wake-up call. "You're meeting your real parents today, remember?"

At the reminder, Rue's eyes flew open, and she sat up in bed to find Mytho already dressed in slightly baggy clothes she didn't recognize. "Where did you get those clothes from?"

"Ah, these?" Mytho looked down at the black slacks and green shirt he wore. "They're Fakir's. Ahiru dropped them off this morning. She thought we might want to wear something a little more casual to your parents' house than the clothes we wore yesterday." He nodded toward a chair in the corner of the guest bedroom. "She also brought those for you. I don't know how they'll fit, since Ahiru is a bit smaller than you, but…"

Rue walked over to the chair and inspected the clothes: a pretty white blouse with puffy sleeves and a burgundy skirt, along with a pair of flats. To her surprise, she realized that they weren't Ahiru's clothes, but one of her own outfits, left behind when she had left Kinkan for her new life in Mytho's kingdom. Ahiru must have salvaged it from her old dorm room at the Academy.

"They'll be fine," Rue said, and began getting dressed.

A few minutes later, Uncle Henry knocked on their door to inform them that breakfast was ready. Rue wasn't hungry, the butterflies in her stomach making her too nervous to eat, but she took one final look in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance, before following Mytho out the door.

"Rue, have you decided what you are going to tell your parents about…well, what happened?" Mytho asked in a quiet voice as they walked slowly to the kitchen. The scent of freshly brewed coffee tickled their noses, along with what smelled like burnt bacon.

"It'll be okay," she said with as much conviction as she could muster. "Uncle Henry actually already knows the whole story."

Mytho stopped in his tracks. "He does? How?"

"I told him last night. We both had trouble sleeping, so we talked over a glass of warm milk."

"Did he believe you?"

Rue sighed, remembering their conversation. "I think he _wants_ to believe me," she replied after a short pause. "I don't know if he's exactly convinced, but I do think he wants Gisela back so badly, he's willing to at least consider the possibility I am telling the truth."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yes, but the story isn't going to be enough to convince my parents I really am Gisela. Uncle Henry says that every girl who has claimed to be Gisela has had to undergo some kind of test to prove her identity."

"A test? What sort of test?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. The only thing Uncle Henry would tell me about it was that if I really was Gisela, then I didn't need to worry. I am worried, though, Mytho," she confessed, feeling her eyes begin to well with tears. "W-What if I fail?"

Pulling her close, Mytho kissed her furrowed forehead. "Oh, Rue, you are Gisela. If your uncle says that the true Gisela has nothing to worry about, then I'm sure you will pass whatever test they give you with flying colors."

"Yes, but -"

"Hey, you two, your breakfast is getting cold," Uncle Henry said, interrupting their private moment. "I'm going down to the shop for a few minutes to help Jan open up and make sure he has everything under control. When I'm finished, we can start heading to my brother's place, okay?"

Rue and Mytho nodded their agreement, then went to the kitchen to eat their breakfast. True to his word, Uncle Henry returned ten minutes later, and, after they cleared the table, the three of them began to walk to her parents' house a couple of blocks away.

Unlike the previous night, when it had been difficult to get a word in edgewise when he spoke, Uncle Henry was rather subdued during their walk. Rue attributed his silence to what she had told him last night, for which she didn't blame him, and kept quiet herself as she and Mytho followed him, walking hand-in-hand.

When they finally reached the house - a three-story manor surrounded by a colorful garden - a young girl who was reading a book on the front porch came running through the front gate.

"Uncle Henry!" the girl, who Rue assumed to be her sister Anneliese, said, giving him a hug. "I didn't know you were coming over today!"

Uncle Henry chuckled and affectionately ruffled the girl's curly blonde hair. "That's because it was supposed to be a surprise," he replied. "Where are your parents and Josef?"

"Inside." At that point, Anneliese became aware of Rue's and Mytho's presence. "Who are they?" she asked, giving them curious stares.

"Friends of mine. I'll give the proper introductions once everyone is together. Will you show us in, Anneliese?"

"Of course." Motioning for them to follow, Anneliese led them through the garden and inside the house. "Mama, Papa, Uncle Henry is here, and he's brought some friends!" she called out in a surprisingly loud voice for such a little girl.

"Anneliese Hoffmann, how many times do I have to tell you that it's not polite to shout?" a woman said, coming out of what appeared to be the kitchen, if the apron tied around her waist and the streak of flour on her cheek was any indication. Rue instantly recognized her as her mother and felt her heartbeat begin to quicken. "Do forgive my daughter's rudeness. She can be a little rambunc-"

As had happened the first time Uncle Henry saw Rue, her mother stopped in the middle of her sentence, dark brown eyes staring at Rue as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Eva?" Uncle Henry stepped forward, taking her arm. For a moment, it appeared as if she might faint. "Are you alright?"

"W-What?" Her mother shook her head. "Oh, yes, I'm quite fine," she insisted, some of the color returning to her face. "It's just that…"

"…she looks so much like you when you were younger," he completed for her. "Like how Gisela might look if she was still alive?"

Her mother nodded. "So you have brought us another Gisela candidate," she said softly, almost mournful, as she turned to face her brother-in-law. "Henry, we said no more imposters. After the last girl… It's just too hard to go through it all again."

"I know, Eva. You've been disappointed before, but there's something about this girl. I can't say for certain that she is your Gisela, and I'll be the first to tell you that the story she told me last night sounds like something right out of a Grimm's fairy tale, but just look at her." Uncle Henry nodded toward Rue. "She's the spitting image of you when you were her age. I dare you to deny it."

Although Rue already had perfect posture due to her years of studying ballet, she found herself standing even straighter as her mother came forward to inspect her.

"I was never so skinny, but I suppose there is a rather strong resemblance," her mother murmured to herself, lifting Rue's chin. "Such a pretty girl… What's your name?"

"R-Rue von Hohenheim."

Her answer seemed to surprise her mother. "You don't call yourself Gisela?"

"I only learned of the name from an old newspaper yesterday," Rue admitted, resolving that, unlike with Uncle Henry, she would tell the truth from the start. "I was looking to find my parents, so a friend of ours at the library allowed us to look through the archives."

"You say you were looking to find your parents? Are you saying that the reward money didn't interest you at all?"

"Mrs. Hoffman, with all due respect, I should say Rue and I are even wealthier than your family," Mytho answered for her, taking Rue's hand. "She has no reason to be after your family's modest wealth. Rue's only looking for the family she thought she would never find again."

"And may I ask, who are you?" Rue's mother asked, looking at Mytho with a trace of suspicion.

"I'm her husband, Prince Seigfried von Hohenheim."

At Mytho's introduction, Anneliese, who had remained quiet on the sidelines after her mother's earlier admonishment, gasped. "You mean, like the Prince in the book?"

"What book, Anneliese?" her mother inquired.

" _The Prince and the Raven_ , of course. Papa always reads it to me at least once a month before I go to bed. The author died before it was ever finished, though, so whenever we get to the end, he always makes up a new ending to go with it. It's great fun," Anneliese said, clapping her hands together. "Rereading most books is usually boring, since you already know what is going to happen at the end, but with _The Prince and the Raven_ , it's like a new story every time!"

Mytho and Rue glanced at each other, sharing private smiles. If things went well, they would one day have to tell Anneliese the true ending of _The Prince and the Raven_. 

"Funny you should mention that, Anneliese," Unce Henry butted in, "because Seigfried here claims he really is the Prince from the story."

"Really?" Looking up at Mytho, Anneliese's bright blue eyes widened until they were nearly as large as saucers. "You're _the_ Prince Seigfried?"

"Anneliese, don't be ridiculous," her mother scolded. "You, too, Henry. Honestly, fictional characters come to life? That's preposterous!"

"Any more preposterous than you and Karl's claim that Gisela was kidnapped by a flock of crows?"

"T-That - That's different. Karl and I saw her kidnapping with our very eyes."

"Well, Rue claims that she was kidnapped by crows when she was about Gisela's age, then taken to the lair of the Raven of the story, where she was raised as his own daughter, a crow born in human skin," Uncle Henry said. "What do you think of that, Eva?"

"Is that true?" her mother asked, turning her attention to Rue, who had no choice but to nod her head.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it is the truth," Rue declared. "The Raven from the story gave me the name Princess Kraehe and raised me as his daughter. I had no idea I was even human until about a year or so ago."

Her mother pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "I have no idea what to think about all this. It's crazy! Delusional, even. The idea that a raven from some fictional book decided to kidnap our Gisela to raise her as his own daugh-"

"What about Gisela?"

Coming down the staircase, a blond man who vaguely resembled Uncle Henry stopped on the mid-way landing. He was followed by a scrawny, dark-haired boy on the threshold of adolescence.

Without a doubt, they were Rue's father and younger brother Josef.

"Henry, I didn't expect to see you today," her father said, continuing down the staircase. Josef stayed on the landing where he was, staring down at Rue with curiosity. "A problem at the shop?"

Uncle Henry shook his head. "Jan's taking care of things for today. My visit is of a more personal nature, Karl."

"Henry's brought another girl who claims to Gisela," Rue's mother explained, taking her husband's arm when he finished descending the staircase. "I've reminded him that we have no interest in meeting any more fake Giselas, but he seems so insistent about this one for some reason." She nodded her head in Rue's direction.

"She is quite the beauty, I must admit," her father said, fully turning his attention to a blushing Rue for the first time. "She reminds me a lot of you, Eva, when we first started courting. Why, she's nearly the spitting image!"

"Exactly the thought I had when I first met her," Henry agreed. "I immediately thought, 'If Gisela is still alive, I bet she would look a lot like this girl.' Even as a baby, Gisela took strongly after her mother."

"That's no reason to believe this girl is Gisela," her mother insisted. "I admit there is a resemblance, but the last time we saw our daughter, she was a baby. Babies change as they grow up. We have no idea what she looks like now, if she's even still alive."

"Yes, but if there's even the slightest chance that Rue is the real Gisela, don't you want to know for sure?" Coming forward, Uncle Henry took his sister-in-law's free hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Eva, look, I know how difficult this must be for you, but she is already here. Are you really willing to let her leave without even giving her a chance to prove her identity? That's all she's asking for - a chance. Can you give it to her?"

For a long, excruciating moment, her mother did not answer. Rue squeezed Mytho's hand so tightly, she thought she heard a bone break, although he did not cry out. Finally, however, her mother nodded.

"Fine, we will give her the test."


	10. Act 10 - Mark Of Gisela

While everybody else took a seat in the living room, Rue's mother led her upstairs to a bedroom filled with shelves of pretty porcelain dolls and children's books - most likely, Anneliese's room. Rue, who still had no idea what kind of test she would have to take to prove her identity, gave her mother a quizzical look as the older woman took a seat on Anneliese's bed and frowned.

"Before we begin, I must be honest with you," her mother said. "I do not believe you are my daughter. It's been far too long, and I have been disappointed far too many times to let myself still hold onto the hope that Gisela is still alive. Had Henry had the sense to contact us before bringing you here, I would have refused to see you, but since you are here, I will give you the chance to prove your identity, if only for the sake of my husband's and my children's curiosity."

"I-I understand," Rue replied, clasping her hands in front of her as she stepped forward. "Believe me, Mrs. Hoffmann, it was never my intention to hurt anybody by pretending to be somebody I am not, but I truly believe I am Gisela. However, if I am not, you have my deepest apologies for any old wounds I may have reopened."

"Thank you." After a long pause, during which she appeared to be summoning her strength, her mother stood back up from the bed. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I need you to raise up your shirt."

Out of all the scenarios Rue had imagined concerning the test, that was not one of them.

"E-Excuse me?"

"You needn't raise it very high," her mother assured her. "Just under you chest is fine."

"Um, okay…"

Still confused, Rue nonetheless did as she was told, lifting up her shirt to right underneath her breasts so that her toned abdomen was on full display. Her mother then came forward, a small gasp escaping her lips as she ran a finger over a uniquely-shaped birthmark that Rue had always hated.

"Can it really be?" her mother breathed. "After all these years…?"

"Mrs. Hoffmann?"

"Karl said it looked like a twig of rosemary," she murmured, not seeming to hear Rue at all. "That's how we decided on her name. In my favorite ballet, Myrthe, the queen of the wilis, uses rosemary to raise Giselle from her grave. Neither of us were terribly fond of the name Myrthe, though, so we decided to call you Gisela instead."

The use of the word "you" instead of "her" did not go unnoticed by Rue, and her eyes widened.

"Then, I…passed?"

In answer, her mother simply embraced her, her voice cracking as she said the words Rue had longed to hear from the moment she stepped inside the house:

"Welcome home, Gisela."


	11. Act 11 - Conflicted Feelings

Rue had no idea how long she and her mother stood hugging each other in Anneliese's room, the both of them crying enough tears to fill a small lake. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days. The only thing Rue knew was that now that she had finally found her family, she never wanted to let go of her mother ever again.

The two of them finally did break apart, though, when there was a soft knock on the door and her father poked his head inside.

"Is everything all right in here?" he asked upon seeing their tear-streaked faces.

"Oh, Karl, come in," her mother said, waving him in with one hand while the other dabbed at her eyes with a lacy handkerchief. "Come in, and welcome your first-born daughter home."

"You mean…she's really our Gisela?" Coming forward, Rue's father covered his mouth, his blue eyes watering from emotion. "She is really and truly our Gisela?" he asked again in a choked up voice from behind his hand.

"She has the rosemary birthmark; there is no doubt."

"I…I can't believe this. After all this time…"

It was then her father's turn to embrace Rue, bringing on another round of crying. He didn't weep nearly as much as her mother, but Rue noticed a few wayward tears rolling down his cheeks, which he made no attempt to hide.

"Oh, my baby girl," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "I never thought I would hold you in my arms again."

"Papa…" Her face buried in his shoulder, Rue inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of cigars that surrounded him. "Papa!"

Rue's heart felt as if it were bursting with happiness. No longer did she feel like a part of herself was missing. For the first time in her life, she was whole, the missing pieces of her past completing the puzzle of her life.

She was Gisela Odile Hoffmann, and she couldn't have been happier.

After her reunion with her father, the three of them decided to go back downstairs to tell the rest of the family the good news. Rue's mother took one hand and her father the other as they descended the staircase together. Uncle Henry, who was at the bottom of the stairs, about to go up, was the first to see them, and he knew instantly what had happened upstairs.

"Gisela!"

Rue broke free of her parents' grasps and ran down the stairs, throwing herself in her uncle's arms.

The next few minutes were a blur of hugs and broken conversations as the rest of Rue's family welcomed her home. Curious Anneliese kept asking if she really was a princess, while Josef wanted to know if it was true that she had been raised as the Raven's daughter. Rue both laughed and cried as she tried to answer everybody's questions, still in disbelief that after all these years, she had found her true family again.

The only one who did not join in the celebration was Mytho. He stood off to the side, a serene, yet somewhat sad, smile on his lips, watching the happy reunion between his wife and his newly discovered in-laws.

Upon seeing her husband standing separate from the others, Rue managed to untangle herself from Anneliese's clinging arms and walked over to Mytho. He hugged her and kissed her on her forehead.

"I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am for you, Rue," he said in a soft voice, embracing her tighter. "I'm so glad you were able to find your family."

"I couldn't have done it without you," Rue insisted. "You, and Ahiru, and Fakir - you've all done so much for me, even after all the trouble I put you through when I still thought I was Princess Kraehe." Thinking of the terrible things she had done while under the Raven's influence, she shuddered. "In fact, I'm not sure I deser-."

Mytho shook his head, bringing a finger to her lips before she could finish her thought. "Don't say that. What the Raven did to you was not your fault. He was the one who kidnapped you from this wonderful family and forced you to drink his blood. It's his fault that you did such hurtful things."

"I know, but -"

"Just be happy, Rue," he said, landing another kiss on the top of her head. "You deserve all the happiness in the world, even if it means I must lose you to give it to you."

"W-What?" Rue abruptly looked up, surprised by his words. "What do you mean, lose me? You aren't going to lose me, Mytho. Why would you say such a thing?"

Her raised voice, louder than she had intended, caught the notice of her celebrating family, who immediately went silent. Aware of the attention they were drawing, Rue grabbed her husband's hand and excused herself, leading him outside to the gardens where they could have some privacy.

"Now, what in the world did you mean when you said that?" she demanded to know as soon as they were out of earshot.

Mytho sighed, taking a seat on a swinging bench and motioning for Rue to join him, which she did, some of her jubilation beginning to fade away when she saw the serious look on his face.

"Mytho?"

"I can't ask you to leave again," he said after a long pause, his voice so low, Rue could barely hear him.

"What?"

"To take you back to my kingdom… I can't," Mytho repeated in a slightly clearer voice. "It would be selfish of me."

Rue didn't understand. Where was this coming from? "Mytho, I'm your wife," she reminded him, holding up her left hand to show him the golden wedding band she wore on her ring finger. "We vowed to stay together forever, until death do us part."

"That was…before. Rue, the first time I took you to my kingdom, you had no real ties to this world. You and Ahiru had become friends, yes, but she understood how much we wanted to be together and never would have tried to stop you from leaving, even if she hadn't become a duck again. That made it easy for you to decide to leave Kinkan and become my princess. However…"

"However, now I have a family here: a mother, father, brother, and sister who I all want to know better," Rue said, completing Mytho's sentence for him. Things were starting to become clearer.

"Exactly. Your family has waited almost two decades for Gisela to return to them. Now that you have, I can't take you away from them again, not like the Raven did."

"Does it have to be either/or?" Rue asked. "I mean, Fakir brought us here once with his story spinning powers. Couldn't he do it again?"

"He could, but would that be fair to him? You know he doesn't like to use his powers. Ahiru convinced him to do it this time, but…" He trailed off. "Besides, you wouldn't have any way to communicate with him in my world. Your visits here would be solely at the mercy of his pen. That's no way to live, Rue. Believe me, I've lived through it with Drosselmeyer."

Rue sighed. "I suppose you're right," she admitted. "I wouldn't like having to depend on Fakir's powers to see my family. I want to be able to see them whenever I want, which I couldn't do if I went back to your world."

Sitting back on the bench, Rue looked up at the sky and closed her eyes as she thought over her dilemma. She had no idea what to do. She had been so focused on the idea of reuniting with her family, she didn't even think about what would happen afterwards. Of course she wanted the chance to know her parents and new siblings, but she didn't want to lose Mytho in the process.

Mytho… Had he been aware the whole time of what might happen if she found her birth parents? If so, that made his determination to help her find them all the more touching. He loved her so much, he had been willing to lose her if it meant making her happy.

How could she possibly let him go? There had to be some way to stay with both Mytho and her family.

"What about if we both stayed here in Kinkan?" Rue suggested, finally breaking the silence between them. Even as she asked the question, though, she already knew the answer.

Sure enough, Mytho mournfully shook his head. "I can't, Rue," he said. "I don't belong here. I'm a storybook character. The first time I escaped from the book, my presence ended up blurring the worlds of fantasy and reality. I don't want that happening again. In fact, to be honest, I probably shouldn't even be here now."

"Nothing's happened so far."

"But that doesn't mean it won't. From what I remember, the change wasn't instant the first time I came either, but the longer I stayed, the more strange things began to appear. As long as I don't stay here too long and Fakir burns the story that brought us here, it should be okay, but I wouldn't want to take a chance by moving back here permanently." Mytho smiled sadly. "Besides, I have a kingdom to rule. To the people of this world, it may only be a place of fantasy, a figment of a twisted author's imagination, but to me, it's my true home, as real as anything you can find here."

"Then what else can we do?" Rue tearfully asked as Mytho pulled her close. "Is our only choice to say good-bye?"

Try as they might, neither could think of another answer.


	12. Act 11 - An Impossible Decision

Rue tried to put on a happy face when they finally rejoined the family celebration, but it was difficult when all she could think about was tomorrow morning, when she would have to say good-bye to the man she loved.

When they had been unable to think of a plan that would allow them to stay together, while also giving Rue the chance to reconnect with her family, Mytho had insisted she stay in Kinkan. Despite her protests, he adamantly refused to let her leave the Hoffmanns. He thought it was the best situation for everyone if he simply went back to his kingdom alone.

Rue wasn't sure how she felt. Her heart, which had been filled with joy just a few short hours ago, now felt as if it was breaking in half. No matter what choice she made - stay in Kinkan or return to the story with Mytho - she would never be truly happy. How could she possibly choose between the man she had loved ever since she was a little girl and the loving family she had always wanted? It was impossible.

"Gisela?"

Rue jumped, startled from her thoughts when somebody placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, Mama, it's you."

Her mother smiled. "You have no idea how wonderful it is to hear you call me 'Mama'," she said, caressing Rue's cheek. "I never did get to hear your first words. Those awful crows took you away before we ever got the chance…" Tears formed in her eyes, which she dabbed at with her handkerchief. "My goodness, you'd think my eyes would be all dried up by now! I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I understand," Rue assured her. "It's been an emotional day for everybody, after all."

"Indeed, it's been one of the happiest days of my life. Yet it seems to me like something is bothering you."

"What do you mean?"

"You've been acting rather distant ever since you and your husband returned from the gardens," her mother said, surprising Rue, who had thought she had been doing a fairly good job of hiding her conflicted feelings. "Did something happen? You two didn't have a fight, did you?"

Rue shook her head. "No, nothing like that. We did have a serious discussion about our future, though." Her eyes searched around the room until she found Mytho, who had a laughing Anneliese on his lap. A lump formed at the back of her throat at the sight, thinking of how Mytho would never have the chance to hold their own hypothetical child if she was to stay in Kinkan, but she forced herself to swallow it back, not wanting to break down in front of her new family. "Mytho plans to return back to his kingdom tomorrow."

"So soon? I mean, I know you say he's a prince of some fairytale realm, and he must have his duties, but surely he could stay for a longer visit. Karl and I would very much like to get to know our son-in-law a little better, as well as our daughter."

"I'm afraid he won't be your son-in-law for much longer," Rue said softly, her mother's eyes widening in shock.

"What? You're getting a divorce?"

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say that." Seeing the confusion on her mother's face, Rue elaborated. "Traveling between worlds is not as simple as opening a door and walking through it. Technically, Mytho shouldn't even be here. The last time he came to Kinkan, though only a handful of people remember it, the entire town became a strange mixture of fantasy and reality, and he's afraid if he stays here for too long, it will start happening again."

"What about you, though?"

"Oh, since I was born in this world, I shouldn't have much of an effect on things here. It's like I've just returned from an extended vacation."

Her mother shook her head. "You misunderstood me, Gisela," she said, gently placing her hands on Rue's arms. "I was asking how you felt about Seigfried leaving. From what you've told me, it almost sounds as if you don't expect to ever see him again."

"I don't, Mama."

"But why, darling? I don't quite understand. I understand that Seigfried can't stay in our world for too long without serious consequences, but that doesn't mean you can't split your time between both worlds, does it?"

"Like I said, traveling between the worlds is not easy," Rue reminded her. "The only one with that power - a friend of ours - lives here in Kinkan. Asking him to take me back to Mytho's kingdom is easy enough, but I would have no way to contact him if I wanted return back to Kinkan to visit you. It's only pure coincidence that Fakir brought us back here when I became curious about who my real parents were."

"Oh, I see." Letting go of Rue's arms, her mother sighed. "You know, if you really do love Seigfried, I don't want you to feel obligated to stay here with us."

"What?"

Rue didn't understand. Didn't her mother want her to stay?

Almost as if she guessed what Rue was thinking, her mother gave a small smile. "Don't get me wrong," she said. "After all the years we've missed, your father and I would love nothing more than for you to stay here for us, but we don't want you to stay at the expense of your own happiness. Just knowing that you are alive and happy is enough for us."

"But I want to be with you," Rue insisted. "Ever since I learned the truth about my kidnapping, finding my true parents has been my most fervent wish. Now that I've found you, I can't just leave."

"Yet you are really willing to give up the man you were planning to spend the rest of your life with?"

"I… I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I just don't know."


	13. Act 13 - Goodbye

Morning came far sooner than Rue expected. She and Mytho had spent the night in her parents' guest room, making the most of their last few hours together. Waking up next to him, Rue felt like crying, knowing that it would be the last time, but she was determined not to lose it until it was time for him to leave.

"Rue, are you okay?" Mytho asked when he saw her brush away a few stubborn tears with her hands.

"I-I'm fine," she lied, rolling over on her side. "I just got something in my eye, that's all."

"Rue…" He kissed her bared shoulder, his hand running up her arm. "Don't do that."

"What?"

"Pretend that your heart isn't breaking, the same as mine."

At his words, the dams broke, and Rue began sobbing, burying her face in Mytho's shoulder as he held her close. Though she couldn't see his face, she could feel the shudders running through his body and knew he was crying as well. They stayed like that for long moment until they heard soft footfalls outside the bedroom door.

"That's probably Mama," Rue said, sitting up and wrapping the sheet around her. She used a loose corner to wipe away her remaining tears. "We should probably start getting dressed. She told me that she wanted to make a special breakfast for us before you leave."

"Right."

When they had announced to the rest of the family that Mytho planned to leave, Uncle Henry had volunteered to go back to his apartment to retrieve the regal attire Mytho had worn when they first arrived. Mytho dressed in his own clothes, leaving the ones he had borrowed from Fakir neatly folded on a chair in the corner to be returned when they asked him to send Mytho back. Since Rue didn't have another change of clothes, she again wore the blouse and skirt she had worn the day before. Once they were both dressed, they headed downstairs, hand-in-hand.

Rue, though having little experience living in a family setting, had expected to find everybody already up, Anneliese and Josef busy getting ready for school while their mother cooked omelets at the stove and their father sat at the table, drinking a cup of coffee as he read the morning paper. That had always been her idea of the perfect family breakfast, but, when she and Mytho made it to the bottom of the stairs, Rue was surprised to find nobody around.

"Mama?" she called out. "Papa? Anneliese? Josef? Is anybody here?"

"Rue, look over there." Mytho nodded toward the front door, which was wide open. They could just barely hear Josef's voice shouting something outside.

"Wha-?"

"Gisela!"

At her name, Rue turned around, looking up at the top of the staircase for the source of the voice. It belonged Anneliese. In one arm, the little girl clutched an adorable teddy bear, while her other arm was used to drag a large suitcase that was almost as big as her.

"Anneliese, what are you doing?" Rue asked as her younger sister proceeded to join them at the bottom of the staircase, struggling a little with her suitcase. Mytho met her halfway, carrying it the rest of the way.

"It's moving day!" Anneliese replied happily. "Prince Seigfried, can I pick any room in your castle to be my new bedroom? I want one with a huge canopy bed, just like a princess!"

At a loss of what to say, Mytho exchanged a confused look with Rue. "Uh…"

Rue sighed. The poor girl must have misunderstood something when they explained that Mytho was leaving to return to his kingdom. Taking her hand, she was about to remind her that Mytho was the only one leaving when Josef came back inside.

"Anneliese, what is taking you so long?" he demanded to know. "Papa told you to pack just the things you couldn't bear to leave behind, not your entire doll collection."

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Letting go of Rue's hand, Anneliese grabbed her suitcase and dragged it toward the door. "Come on!" she said, motioning for Rue and Mytho to follow her and Josef outside.

Rue had absolutely no idea what was going on. Shrugging her shoulders at Mytho, the two of them headed outside, where they were shocked to discover a horse-drawn carriage in front of the house. Josef was helping Anneliese hoist her suitcase onto the back of the carriage, while her father appeared deep in conversation with Uncle Henry. Her mother, upon seeing Rue and Mytho emerge from the house, ran over to greet them, smiling brightly.

"Gisela! Seigfried! Good, you're up. I was just about to come rouse you."

"Mama, what is going on here?" Rue asked as her mother gave her hug. "Why does Anneliese seem to be under the impression that she's moving to Mytho's castle? And what is with the suitcases?"

"There's…been a change of plans," her mother said, linking arms with Rue as she led the two of them toward the carriage. "You see, after you and Seigfried retired for the night, we all held a family meeting. None of us thought it was fair that you had to give up your marriage just so you could stay here with us, so we decided that it would be best for everybody involved if we all moved to your husband's kingdom - provided he doesn't mind the intrusion, of course." Stopping, she glanced behind at a startled Mytho.

"Y-You and your family are more than welcome in my kingdom, Mrs. Hoffmann," he said, "but are you truly willing to sacrifice the life you've built here to move to a foreign land?"

Rue, who could only stare at her mother in complete disbelief, had the same question. It was one thing for her to decide to leave her former life behind to marry Mytho and become princess of a fairy tale kingdom. At the time, she had precious few ties to the world of reality, other than her friendship with Ahiru. However, for her newfound family to be so willing to leave their own lives behind just so that she and Mytho could stay together…

"It's already been decided," her mother said matter-of-factly. "Henry has already agreed to take full control of the store, and he will take care of any loose ends that we may have forgotten in our haste."

"But you may never see this world again, Mama," Rue reminded her, finally managing to speak. "I-I appreciate the gesture, but how can we ask you to leave your friends and the rest of your family to cater to our selfish wish to stay together?"

"Love is not selfish, Gisela." Turning to face Rue, her mother took both her hands in her own. "To love somebody means that you are willing to do everything possible to make that person happy. Even though you barely knew us, you loved us enough to agree to stay with us, even if it meant giving up the man you love, a man who loved you enough to let you go. We love you enough not to let either of you make such a sacrifice. We just want everybody to be together, and if that means moving to another world, then that is a sacrifice we are more than happy to make."

"Mama…" Her eyes welling up with tears, Rue threw her arms around her mother. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Hoffmann," Mytho echoed. "I don't know how we can ever repay you."

"We've already received payment enough," Rue's mother insisted, smiling as Rue let go of her and hugged Mytho. "After all, we have our daughter back. That's all we could ever ask for."

By that time, the rest of the family had finished loading their suitcases onto the carriage. Since neither Rue nor Mytho had anything to pack, other than Fakir's clothes, which Mytho ran up to get, they climbed right in. Rue's father had decided to drive, so after everyone had said goodbye to an emotional Uncle Henry, Mytho gave him directions to Fakir's house by the lake.

When they arrived, they found Fakir and Ahiru laying face-up on the wooden pier over the lake, Ahiru pointing up at something in the sky. Rue had to smile at the sight as Mytho helped her out of the carriage, thinking how unusual it was to see the normally uptight Fakir so relaxed. Ahiru had been a good influence on him.

"Hey, shouldn't you be at school, Ahiru?" Rue called out, startling the two cloud-watchers, who evidently had not heard the horses when they pulled up.

"Mytho! Rue!" Upon seeing them, Ahiru ran right over and gave Rue a hug. Fakir, looking a little sheepish, was slower in following. "I was hoping you would come today. How did it go with the Hoffmanns'? Did they believe you were the true Gisela?"

"See for yourself." Rue nodded toward her family behind her. "Ahiru, Fakir, I'd like you to meet my mother, my father, my brother Josef, and my sister Anneliese."

Ahiru curtsied. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Ru- I mean, Gisela's - friend, Ahiru, and this is my…" Looking over at Fakir, she blushed. "And this is Fakir."

Rue's father came forward and shook Fakir's hand. "So you are the one they call a Story Spinner?"

"I prefer not to be called that, but yes," Fakir replied. His eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion. "Why do you want to know?"

"Forgive Fakir, he can be a bit...direct sometimes," Mytho said. Turning to Fakir, he announced, "Fakir, it's about time Rue and I headed back to the story."

"What?" Ahiru exclaimed. "But you just got here! We barely spent any time together."

"I'm sorry, Ahiru," Rue apologized, "but Mytho's worried about what might happen if he stays in this world for much longer. You know what happened the last time."

"But what about your family? You're going to leave them again, just when you've finally found each other?"

"Actually…we were hoping Fakir would send them inside the story as well." Looking over at Fakir, she asked, "Do you think you can do that?"

"You want to bring your family with you?" Fakir frowned. "I can probably do it, but your folks do realize that they'll be permanently giving up their lives in this world, right? If they don't like it in the story world, they'll be stuck there forever. There's no going back."

Coming forward, Rue's mother took Rue's hand. "Young man, we are fully aware of the sacrifice we would be making. We've given this a lot of thought, and we just want us all to be together, no matter what the cost, so please, use your power to send us all to Siegfried's kingdom."

"Please, Fakir," Mytho said.

Fakir's faced softened at Mytho's plea, and he sighed. "Okay, I'll do it," he finally agreed. "All of you, you should get back in the carriage. I'll use it as the plot device to cross you all over."

Doing as they were told, Rue's family once again loaded into the carriage as Rue and Mytho said goodbye to their friends.

"I really do appreciate everything you two have done for me," Rue said. "Without you, I may have never found my family. I can't begin to tell you how that much means to me."

Ahiru gave her another hug. "I'm so happy we were able to help, but I still wish you could stay longer. Maybe Fakir can bring you back again someday?"

"Ahiru…" Fakir warned.

"What if Fakir brings us all back every year for Christmas?" Mytho suggested, surprising Rue. "Despite what Rue's parents said, I'm sure they would still like to see Uncle Henry and the rest of their family over the holidays, and it should be fine for me to occasionally spend the day in this world."

Fakir looked doubtful. "Are you sure, Mytho? I don't want you to feel like I'm controlling your life, like Drosselmeyer did."

"As long as there's a set schedule, I wouldn't mind at all."

"I guess it's decided, then." For the first time since they arrived, Fakir smiled. Though he probably would never admit it, Rue knew he was pleased with the idea of being able to see Mytho again as well. "Well, you two better get in the carriage, too. Ahiru, run back into the house and bring me some paper and ink, will you? I need to think about what I want to write to send them back."

"Right!"

Doing as she was told, Ahiru went back to the house to grab Fakir's writing materials while Rue and Mytho rejoined Rue's family in the carriage. A few minutes later, Fakir was hard at work on the story that would send them all to Mytho's kingdom.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to come with us?" Rue couldn't resist asking her parents one last time. "Fakir agreed to bring us back once a year for Christmas, but…"

Smiling, her mother, who was sitting across from her, reached over and grabbed her hand.

"We have never been more certain of anything in our lives, Gisela."

And, with that, the carriage began glowing a bright golden color, taking them all to their home, where they would hopefully live happily ever after. Together.


End file.
